A week before turning 47, I tied a brown belt around my waist. It felt less like an achievement and more like a quiet contract: keep learning, keep refining, keep showing up. This is my take on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for business – how belt-by-belt lessons translate into the way I advise clients, design workshops, and help teams navigate uncertainty.
(Quick context on the art of BJJ for readers new to it: the belt system and philosophy of leverage over strength are core to the discipline. See the IBJJF belt system and a short primer on Brazilian jiu-jitsu.)
White Belt: Burn Fast, Learn Faster
On the mat: I wanted to act fast, crush everything, and survive. I’d explode in the first minute and get tapped, every time. Ego spent, energy gone.
What I learned: Pace beats panic. Survival is about breath, structure, and attention, not brute force.
In my facilitation & consulting:
Set the tempo early. Kickoffs and first workshops define energy. I design openings that slow the room down: clear objectives, shared ground rules, and breathing space to think.
Structure > speed. We favor simple frameworks (e.g., Problem → Evidence → Options → Decision) before layering complexity.
Ego off, curiosity on. I ask naïve questions first; they surface hidden assumptions faster than clever ones.
Business translation. In new initiatives, don’t sprint blindly. Breathe, clarify, and conserve energy for the hard rounds: strategy is a marathon of good decisions, not one knockout slide. (Related: Workshops & Facilitation and Strategy & Innovation.)
Blue Belt: Technique Over Muscle
On the mat. I realized the game isn’t won by power alone. I started applying fundamentals and learning more complex chains.
Lesson. Technique compounds. Position before submission. Timing over tension.
How this shows up in business.
Method mastery. I pair Design Thinking for discovery with LEGO® SeriousPlay® for shared meaning and alignment. (Why these work: Why Design Thinking is a Game-Changer and The Power of LEGO SeriousPlay.)
Sequence matters. We move from insights → options → trade-offs → test—no skipping steps.
Small wins, stacked. Visible early outcomes (a shared vision narrative, a first KPI set) build momentum and trust.
Business translation. When teams rely on force (authority, budget, volume), they tire and stall. Technique – clean processes, clear roles, tight decision rules – compounds results.
Purple Belt: Find Your Game
On the mat. I knew the techniques and, more importantly, my game: when to pause, breathe, attack, and conserve. I learned to be “sneaky”: bait, misdirect, set traps, capitalize on mistakes.
Lesson. Strategy is selection. Not every move is your move. Provoke reactions you can win.
How this shows up in business.
Choiceful strategy. Define what we won’t do as clearly as what we will. Focus creates edge.
Design the duel. I structure sessions to surface real options (including decoys) and watch where conviction shows up, and where resistance hides.
Ethical provocation. Futures prompts and “red-team” challenges expose fragile assumptions so better strategies can emerge.
Business translation. Knowing your game means aligning capabilities, timing, and terrain. Create conditions where your strengths matter most, and competitors’ strengths matter least. (Related: Team Alignment: Building a Shared Vision.)
Brown Belt: Refine Relentlessly
On the mat. Brown is refinement. Fewer wasted movements. Better frames, pressure, transitions. Less noise, more signal.
Lesson. Mastery is subtraction. The art is removing what doesn’t help under pressure.
How this shows up in business.
Strategy through subtraction. Trim bloated roadmaps to a sharp, sequenced few. Every initiative earns its slot with evidence and impact.
Operational clarity. Roles, cadences, and KPIs become crisp. We build dashboards leaders actually use.
Calm in chaos. When tension rises, I slow the room, reflect back what I hear, and guide decisions one controlled grip at a time.
Business translation. Refinement turns good teams great: less thrash, fewer priorities, tighter loops, clearer commitments, executed consistently. This refinement mindset is exactly why I practice Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for business with clients, not just on the mat.
Training for the Long Game (Turning 47)
I’m closer to 50 than 40, and I feel it, in a good way. Longevity forces better habits: sleep, breath, pacing, recovery, smarter reps. I don’t need to be the fastest or strongest. I need to be the most useful.
How that shapes my work now.
Sustainable cadence. Replace heroics with rhythms: monthly strategy reviews, quarterly bets, bi-weekly learnings.
Energy management. Workshops are built like rounds: intense bursts, then decompression, then synthesis.
Compounding fundamentals. Culture, clarity, and measurement (done consistently) beat sporadic brilliance.
How I Apply This With Clients (Belt → Business Moves)
White → Launch with breath & basics: Explicit goals, decision criteria, and a shared glossary. Start slow to go fast.
Blue → Win with technique: Use proven facilitation methods; sequence discovery → decision → delivery; lock in quick, visible wins.
Purple → Play your game: Choose battles, set the terms, pressure-test options, and design choices that reveal true priorities.
Brown → Refine & remove: Cut non-essentials, tighten governance, simplify metrics, and commit to fewer, better bets.
The belt doesn’t change who you are; it reveals how you’ve changed. BJJ taught me that progress is patient, strategic, and humble. That’s the same spirit I bring to every advisory call and every room I facilitate: less rush, more rhythm. Less noise, more signal. Less muscle, more leverage.
If you’re ready to shift from force to finesse in your strategy, team alignment, or operating model, book an intro conversation and let’s roll.
2–3 Actionable Takeaways
Subtract before you add: List your current initiatives; cut or pause 25% that don’t move a core metric.
Sequence your next 90 days: One discovery sprint, one decision forum, one delivery milestone. Repeat.
Adopt a “rounds” cadence: Short, focused working blocks with deliberate recovery and reflection; measure energy, not just output.
